Alexandria: Where Ancient Stones and Bad Weather Collide

just landed in alexandria and the first thing that hits you is this weird damp smell of sea salt and... regret? peeked at the weather and it's... playing hard to get with 15°C all day, like it can't decide whether to rain or just sulk. humidity's clinging to everything like a cheap perfume. perfect for being miserable in a photogenic way.

wandered the corniche for hours, camera clicking away at this crumbling library that looks like it's been sneezing for 500 years. locals are giving me side-eye because i kept trying to shoot pigeons mid-fight. then some guy selling fake papyrus rolls whispered that if you get tired of the sea breeze, cairo's basically a bus ride away - the place where history got drunk and forgot its manners.

"someone told me that the real magic happens at that abandoned lighthouse at midnight, but only if you bring a dead fish and don't ask questions about the noises." - guy with too many teeth and a mysterious flask

found this alley where the cats are running the show. tried to bribe one with tuna for photos. it gave me the judgmental stare of a disappointed art collector. later heard from a drunk fisherman that the catacombs are way scarier than the brochures admit. something about echoes that sound like crying? or maybe he'd just had too of that ouzo.

"i heard that restaurant near the harbor serves dolphin meat if you know the right handshake." - overheard near a suspiciously aromatic meat stall

ended up at this dive bar where the bartender kept refilling my ouzo without asking. told him i'm a photographer, not a writer. he laughed and said all the best stories come from people who don't write them down. fair enough. here's decent falafel near the library if you're starving, and this guide warns about pickpockets with very polite manners. also found this local board where people argue about whether cleopatra was overrated or just had good PR.